Scarred Angels
by Skinnylove1324
Summary: Beth Greene and Daryl Dixon grow closer in a way they never expected. They find the strength and the hope they need to survive in each other.
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1

**Beth's P.O.V.**

_Prologue_

My crush for Daryl Dixon was subtle, slow growing, like winter changing to spring. I used to think of him just as some redneck. Now he's like my angel.

The day the prison fell was the worst day of my life without a doubt. I had to watch my father by the hand of an evil man. Everyone was getting killed around me. People were running in all directions. I went looking for Judith, but she wasn't where I left her. I thought I was going to get killed. Then I heard someone call my name.

"Beth c'mon we gotta go."

He was right. The prison was finished. Gone. We needed to leave. So we did. We ran. We ran from the past so we could have a future.

I'm swimming in a lake. The sun is bright, making the water sparkle. I see a rock at the bottom of the lake. I can't quite make it out entirely but I feel drawn to it. I have to go get it. I take a gulp of air and dive down into the cool water. The water is eerily empty. There isn't a single fish swimming around me. The lake bottom is clear except for the rock. I feel like something bad is about to happen, but it doesn't matter as much as getting the rock. I'm almost at the lake bottom. I reach out my hand to grab the rock. My heart stops. It isn't a rock I'm reaching for it's my father's head. His dead eyes are staring at me. My breath slips out of my lungs. I panic. I'll never make it back to the surface in time. I'm going to drown. This is the end.

"BETH WAKE UP!" Daryl's voice wakes me up from my nightmare. I can hear my heart beat. I'm covered in a cold sweat. My breathing is in short pants. It wasn't real. I'm still alive.

I sit up in the twin bed. We found a house in a suburb last night. It had a small fence around it. The house was small. It had two bedrooms. One bedroom had one bed. The other bedroom had two twin beds. We awkwardly reached the decision that the bedroom with the two beds would be best.

"Are you okay Beth?" Daryl asks.

He's sitting on the other twin bed in a sleeveless shirt with his crossbow at the foot of the bed. He is giving me a look filled with concern. I nod my head.

"I'll be okay. I need to calm down. It was just a nightmare,"

"You want to talk about it?"

What? Did I hear that right? I've been alone with Daryl for two weeks and I've always had to start the conversations and they never really lasted long. Daryl Dixon wasn't the most talkative person in the world.

"Not really, I just want to forget about it," I replied. It's the truth I want to forget about it and never think about it again.

"I understand I've felt that way about a lot of things before,"

"Thanks Daryl," I say with a smile.

He nods and gets up off the twin bed and starts walking towards the kitchen. Luckily we found some canned fruit in the cabinets last night so we wouldn't have to go scavenging for breakfast today.

I stretch my arms above my head and swing my feet to the floor. My muscles are sore. We killed a lot of walkers yesterday. I change clothes and brush out my hair with the brush that was in the bathroom. No matter how much I brush it it's still a little unruly. I put it in a ponytail and go to the kitchen for breakfast.

Daryl is leaned against the counter eating canned fruit cocktail with his fingers. I grab a can of canned peaches and start eating.

"What are we going to do today?" I ask Daryl.

"We're going to keep searching for the rest of our group, and you're going to learn how to track,"

"Really?!" I ask. I'm excited. I want to have survival skills. I know I'll probably never be as good as Daryl as tracking but I'll still know how.

"Yep we'll head out after we finish eating and get all our shit together"

I quickly finish my peaches and hurry off to the bedroom to get my stuff. Daryl follows me. I grab my backpack, knife, and gun. I put my knife in its holder and I tuck the gun in the waistband of my pants. I put my other set of clothes and my newly obtained hairbrush into my backpack. I put the backpack on and look over at Daryl.

"I'm gonna go grab the cans of food then we can go," he says and walks off to the kitchen.

It's already hot outside and it's not even mid-day yet. We walked out of the neighborhood and into a field. The field was filled with pretty wildflowers and had a wooded area about a mile on the other side.

I looked over at Daryl. He was actually really handsome in a rough sort of way. I hadn't really noticed that before. He had a strong jawline and piercing blue eyes. He walked with a certain confidence to his stride, not over confident but not timid either. I looked away. What am I thinking? Daryl sees me as more of a kid he has to babysit. I can't start liking him like that. It would just make things weird and it's never going to happen. Or could it?

"We're almost to the woods," he said, his voice interrupting my confusing thoughts.

"So how exactly do you track?"

"You pay attention the marks, patterns or tracks left on the ground by whatever you're tracking. Different things make different tracks. Human tracks are usually shoeprints. Walker tracks are usually slurred and sloppy. Most animals leave paw prints or hoof marks,"

I nodded taking all the information in.

"Daryl, how did you get so good at tracking?"

"Never really had a choice. My mom died in a fire. My old man was drunk most of the time and didn't care. Merle was usually always in juvie or away with some women he met. If I didn't hunt I didn't eat."

"Oh," I say softly. His childhood sounded awful.

We finally got to the woods. All the shade from the trees made it a lot cooler. The woods were really beautiful with the sunlight filtering through the trees.

"Pay attention to the ground. See if you can find any tracks."

I focused and let my eyes scan the ground. I didn't see anything. I kept looking and saw indentions in the soil. They looked like deer tracks.

"Daryl I think I found something,"

He walked over and looked over my shoulder.

"Yep those are deer tracks. Let's follow them we may be able to have venison tonight. Good job, Beth."

I smiled and we followed the tracks. They lead us to the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill there was a deer.

Before I even knew what was going on Daryl had a bolt loaded in his crossbow and had shot the deer, right through the heart.

We walked down the hill and went over to the deer.

"Maybe we can find a house or something and then clean and cook it." I suggested.

Daryl nodded," Sounds like a plan,"

We walked for about half a mile when we spotted a farmhouse. It was a yellow two story old fashioned farmhouse. Daryl set the deer down in front of the steps and loaded his crossbow. He pointed it ahead and motioned for me to get behind him. I did and took out my knife from its holder. Daryl went up the steps of the house and opened the front door and went through. I followed. We cleared all the rooms; there was only one walker, which Daryl shot easily through the head. After that we went outside to clean the deer. Daryl skinned and gutted the deer. We cooked it over a fire outside. Then we went back inside.

We pushed all the furniture against the exits so nothing could get in. I'm so tired. All I want to do is sleep.

"I'm going to sleep," I told Daryl.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea. We need to rest while we can."

I went to the bathroom upstairs and changed into the set of clothes I sleep in. I really miss having pjs' to sleep in. I walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. My heart skipped a beat. The bedroom was the only bedroom in the house and it only had one bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daryl's POV

I had just finished getting ready for bed, which for me means cleaning my arrows and wiping off my crossbow, when I heard her call.

"Daryl?!"

I walk from the living room to the bedroom where Beth is. She had changed into the set of clothes she sleeps in and had redone her ponytail. There weren't any walkers in the room and she looked fine. Why did she just yell for me? What's going on?

"What's wrong?" I ask.

Beth doesn't answer. Instead she looks at the bed. What? So? It's a bed. A bed. Only one bed. Shit.

"So what are we going to do?" she asks me.

I sigh. I really wanted to sleep in a bed tonight. I'm tired. It doesn't matter how tired I am. Beth deserves the bed. I can always sleep on the floor. Nothing new for me.

"You can have the bed. I'll be fine on the floor."

"Daryl, you can't sleep on the floor,"

"I can and I will,"

Beth puts her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes.

"Daryl,"

"You get the bed," I say putting the conversation to an end. I could never sleep in a bed while I knew Beth was sleeping on the floor.

"Fine," she says. She walks across the room and blows out the few candles that were lighting the room.

I set my bag on the floor and my crossbow beside the bag. Then I lay down using my bag as a pillow. Not the most comfortable pillow but it was better than nothing. I hear Beth shuffling with the blankets and pillows on the bed. She gets all of the blankets and pillows and sets them on the ground beside me. What the hell is she doing?

"If you're sleeping on the floor so am I."

"You're not going to let this go are you?" I ask.

"Nope." She says I can hear the smile in her voice. "There are enough pillows and blankets for the both of us so we can share"

"Thanks" I said taking a pillow and blanket from her. I gotta admit the pillow is a lot comfier than my bag.

Beth lies down next to me. I can't see her in the dark but I can imagine how she looks right now. Pretty as always. She's beautiful with her creamy white skin and stormy blue eyes. Her blonde hair is shiny and always a little tousled. I can't think of her that way. She deserves better than me. I'm just a dumb, worthless redneck. Everyone has always told me that. And they are right. If it wasn't for the end of the world I would probably be sitting in a jail cell right now, because of some stupid shit Merle and me would do. But I'm not. I'm lying on the floor of some farm house next to a beautiful girl and dead people are walking. Yeah, definitely not where I thought I would be.

I sigh. I don't want to fall asleep, but I need to. I could have a nightmare tonight. If I have a nightmare I'll wake up Beth. I hate nightmares. They just keep reminding me of things I've been trying to forget. I close my eyes and fall asleep to Beth's even and restful breathing.

I open my eyes and see the early light of dawn through the windows. I look over and see Beth Greene resting her head on my chest. She must have moved during her sleep last night. I smile. I wish it could be like this but it can't. She's too good for me. I stop smiling and gently move her head back on to her pillow. I brush some of her wild bedhead hair out of her face. What the fuck am I doing? I need to snap out of this crush or whatever the hell this is. I slowly get up and grab my crossbow. I need to get outside. Fresh air will help me clear my head; this farmhouse smells like musty old grandma perfume anyways.

I go down the stairs and through the kitchen to the back porch. The sun has just come up and the ground is covered in dew. The farm yard is quiet except for one walker just wondering around. It's about fifty yards from the house. I load an arrow, aim, and pull the trigger. The arrow sinks into the walkers foreheads, making it drop to the ground. I walk off the porch to retrieve the arrow from the walker's skull. Why can't all things be as simple as killing walkers? I wipe off the arrow with my red handkerchief I always carry in my back pocket and start walking back to the porch. I sigh as I go up the steps and lean on the railing, looking out at the acres of farmland. I hear footsteps from inside. Beth must be awake.

"Good morning, Daryl" she says as she comes out onto the porch. She walks over beside me and looks at the farmland.

"Mornin" I reply.

"You hungry? I think we have some canned fruit in the kitchen."

I nod. "Sounds good to me"

We go back into the kitchen and look over the cans of fruit. It's mostly fruit cocktail and peaches. I grab a can of peaches and open it with my knife. Then I open a can for Beth and hand it to her.

"Thanks" she says with small smile.

I nod then sit down at the table and begin eating.

"So, Daryl what's the plan for today?"

I hadn't really thought about it. I could keep teaching Beth how to track, but she already had the basics down. We could start looking for the rest of our group, but I had no idea where to start. Too many people and walkers came through the prison, trying to find our group's tracks would be impossible. I don't want to go far from the farmhouse today. It's a good place to stay until we decide where we want to go next. I don't want to leave until Beth has more training. If we run into trouble there are only two of us and she needs to know how to defend herself.

"Training" I answer.

"Training? What kind of training?"

"Strength and some self-defense. You need get build up some muscle and know how to fight."

"Okay. When do we start?"

"No time like the present." I say, getting up from the table to go outside.

We walk outside to the yard. It's still morning, but it's already hot as hell.

"You know this training is going to be torture, right?" I ask.

"Bring it on" she replies with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Beth's P.O.V.

"Bring it on," I say. Once I see that mischievous gleam in Daryl's gunmetal blue eyes and that smirk on his lips I know I'm in trouble.

"We'll start with a warm up. Go jog around the house four times." He says.

"Ok" four times around the house isn't that bad. I can do it. I go in front of the steps. The steps will be my starting point. I start jogging at a brisk pace. I keep my mind on the sounds of my foot falls trying to keep a steady rhythm. I go around the house and I'm back at the steps. One down three to go. It's getting more difficult to breathe with each step. I have to keep going. I'm back at the steps. Two down two to go.

"Inhale through your nose, exhale out of your mouth," I hear Daryl call to me. Easy for him to say he isn't the one running. I take a breath in through my nose and breathe it out of my mouth anyways. It does make it easier to breathe that way. I keep jogging. I'm almost done with lap three. It's so hot out here. I'm at the steps. Three down one to go.

My legs are burning. I keep going. I'm not going to give up now. I start to run faster. I concentrate on my breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I see the steps about ten yards away. I run even faster till I get to them. I did it! I smile.

Daryl walks over to beside me and hands me a bottle of water. I take a small sip trying to make it last. It feels like heaven going down my dry throat.

"Now I want you to do fifty jumping jacks," Daryl says. I nod. I start doing jumping jacks. The first twenty are a piece of cake. The next ten are a little more difficult. I start getting dizzy around number forty. I keep going though and reach fifty.

I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the bottom of my tank top. Even though I've lived in Georgia all my life the heat still gets to me.

"I want you to do five push-ups," Daryl says. I lower myself to the ground. I do three push-ups without any trouble. On number four my arms start to hurt. By number five my arms are shaking like leaves. I stand back up.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Do forty five sit ups," he says. I get on the ground, put my hands on my shoulders and sit up until my arms touch my knees. Ugh, I always hated these. By the time I'm done my muscles feel like jelly.

"Ok, do ten more jumping jacks and run two laps around the house," Daryl says. I do the jumping jacks quickly and it doesn't take me long to run the laps. I look up at the sun high in the sky. I guess it's about noon now. Daryl will probably have me out exercising till midnight.

"That enough for today," Daryl says," let's go inside and get something to eat."

"Sounds good to me," I reply and we go inside to the kitchen.

The kitchen reminds me so much of the one we had at the farm, with its old fashion style and homey feel. I can almost see me, Momma, and Maggie cooking meals, but it's not true. Momma is dead and Maggie is God knows where. One day I hope that things will be back to the way they were before the dead starting walking. Back when you could let your guard down and not get eaten. Back when someone you love or knew didn't die at every turn. It will get better one day though. It has to. I don't think it could get much worse.

I sigh and walk over to our few cans of food left. I pick up a can of fruit cocktail and take a seat at the table. Daryl takes the seat across from me and we start eating. We eat in silence for a few minutes just enjoying the food. The quietness starts to get boring. It's not like Daryl and I don't have anything to talk about. We don't know a lot about each other, just the things you would know from being in a group together for the past year. I want to know more about Daryl Dixon.

"Daryl, what's your favorite color?"

He looks at me surprised and confused. "Why the hell do you want to know that?"

"Because we are off on our own for God knows how long and I want to know more about you." I say.

Daryl shrugs. "I never really thought all that much about it. I like green I guess"

"Like a forest green?" I ask. Daryl likes the woods so he probably likes that color.

"Yeah, something like that. What about you?"

"My favorite color is blue, a gunmetal blue" I say. My favorite color is the color of Daryl's eyes. He has beautiful eyes. His eyes seem really menacing at first glance but they actually look really kind and soft

What am I thinking? I shouldn't be thinking about Daryl like that. He doesn't feel the same way about me and he never will.

I clear my throat, trying to break the awkward silence. "We are getting kind of low on food." I say.

Daryl nods "We aren't really close to a big store or anything, but there are some houses a couple miles from here. We could check there."

"When are we going?"

"We still have about five hours of daylight left. We can go now."

I nod," Ok, let me get my bag. I'll meet you on the porch." I hurry up the stairs and to the bedroom and get my bag off the bed and put it on my shoulders. I go back down stairs and through the kitchen to the porch. Daryl is leaned against the post of the porch and the sun is shining on his arms. Damn, he has nice arms.

"You ready?" he asks.

"Yeah, which way are we going?"

He points toward the south. "It's about two miles through those woods."

"Ok, let's stop burning daylight."

We start walking through the woods. I can hear the birds and the squirrels rustling in the branches of the trees above us. I look down at the ground and let my eyes scan the ground. I see a set of tracks that look like they belong to a walker.

"Those are walker tracks, right?" I ask.

Daryl nods.

"Do you think its close by?"

"Hard to say. It's possible. You have your knife right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We're almost there."

We keep walking and get out of the woods onto a road. I look up ahead and I can see a few houses. There are a few walkers lurking around.

"Stay close to me. Stay quiet. Let's try to just get in and get what we need then get out, without causing a scene."

I nod. We walk quietly up to the first house. The walkers haven't noticed us. There are about ten of them. Daryl opens the front door to the house and walks inside. I follow and close the door behind me. We go from room to room looking for walkers finding none. I go to the bathroom and look in the medicine cabinet. I see a first aid kit and some aspirin. I put both of them in my bag and go to the kitchen where Daryl is searching through the pantry. He had already set some bottles of water and a few granola bars on the counter. He sets down some cans he found in the pantry. I put it all in my bag.

"That's about everything you ready to go to the next house?" He asks.

"Let's go"

Daryl walks toward the front door and stops. I can hear groans. Walkers. Daryl looks out the peep hole of the front door.

"There are about ten of them by the door." He whispers.

"Do you think we could sneak out the back door?"

"I think so, let's go.

We start walking quietly to the back door. Daryl reaches for the doorknob and starts to open the door slowly.

_Thud._

Oh no.

"There is something in front of the door," Daryl says.

"What are we going to do?"

"We could kill the walkers."

"How are we going to do that? There are too many."

"I have a plan. I'll open the door just enough for one to get its head through, then you can stab it. We keep doing that till they're all dead."

"That sounds like a good plan, but what if I mess up and get us killed? I'm not the most experienced walker killer," I say.

"You haven't killed a lot of walkers but you have killed some. You can do it."

I take a deep breathe. "Ok, let's hurry up and get this over with," I say.

We walk over to the front door. I can hear the groaning and shuffling better now. I take out my knife. My hands are shaking and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. Daryl has his hand on the doorknob.

"You ready?" he asks.

"Ready"

He opens the door about a foot. A walker sticks its head through. It used to be a woman. She has yellow snapping teeth and dead eyes. I take my knife and stab her skull; it feels like stabbing a sponge. I take my knife out of her brain and she falls to the ground. Another walker sticks its head through. This time it's a man, half his face is missing. I stab him, and he stops moving. I do the same to the next walker, and the next one, and the one after that until they are all dead.

I don't hear anymore growling or snapping teeth. The air smells like rotting flesh. I did it. I killed the walkers. Daryl and I are both ok. We aren't bitten or scratched.

"I did it!" I say.

"I knew you could,"

"Let's go back to the farmhouse. We found enough food for a few days anyways."

"Yeah, we should get out of here before our luck runs out," he agrees.

We walk on the road and then into the woods, back towards the farmhouse. I feel proud of myself. Even though Daryl helped, it still makes me feel accomplished. I know I shouldn't feel proud for killing walkers, but I do. I'm proud for surviving. Maggie and Daddy have always tried to shelter me from all of this. They meant well, but it weakened me. I can't be weak, not anymore. I need to be able to take care of myself. Killing those walkers was a step in the right direction.

We get back to the farmhouse, about half an hour before sunset. We put the food on the counter with the rest of our food. We have about ten cans of food, a few bags of chips, some bottled water, and some soda. It's enough to last us for a little while.

"Daryl, can we eat dinner on the porch tonight?"

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Because this house smells old and musky and because I want to see the sunset." I say.

"Ok, I guess we can. Get some food and I'll get the soda and forks," he says.

I smile. "Thanks, let's hurry. I don't want to miss it."

I grab two cans of fruit and a bag of Doritos and go outside, Daryl follows with two cans of Mountain Dew and forks. I sit on the swing and Daryl sits beside me. The sun is just beginning to set and the sky is a pink coral color and all the clouds look golden. It's a beautiful summer sunset.

We sit eating for a little while in silence.

"Thanks," I say.

"For what?"

"For teaching me to take care of myself. You are training me to get stronger and you let me kill walkers. You haven't tried to shelter me like everyone else."

"You're welcome,"

The conversation stops for a few moments. I finish my can of peaches and start eating some of the Doritos. Then Daryl's voice breaks the silence.

"What's your favorite food?"

I sit in astonishment. Daryl Dixon just asked me a question without me starting the conversation first. I smile.

"Doritos and Mountain Dew are my favorite food combination, but chocolate is my favorite single food I guess. What about you?"

"Venison jerky,"

"Deer jerky is really good. I remember before all this Otis used to make it all the time. Once I ate about a half a pound of it before church, I didn't know it swelled up in your stomach, and I was sick. I threw up in the middle of the sermon and ruined one of my best dresses. Everyone was looking at me. It was so embarrassing." I say with a laugh. I can see Daryl smile and he laughs too.

"That's a good story, Greene,"

"Thanks, "I say. A yawn comes out of my mouth. I forgot how tired I was. With the work out and killing the walkers I'm exhausted.

"I think I'm going to call it a day and go to bed." I say.

"Yeah," Daryl says," me too."

I go up the stairs and to the bathroom. I change into my sleeping clothes and put my hair into a messy bun. I walk out of the bathroom into the bedroom. I get all the blankets and pillows off the floor and start making the bed. I want to sleep in a bed tonight, the floor isn't very comfy. Daryl walks in. He's changed his shirt. I guess he found one in a closet or something. I can tell it isn't his because it still has sleeves on it. They aren't long sleeves, but I've never known Daryl Dixon to wear any sleeves at all. I like him better without the sleeves.

"You sleeping on the bed tonight?" he asks.

"Yep and so are you. Don't try to argue with me. We slept together on the floor last night. There isn't any reason why we can't sleep in the bed tonight"

"You're right," he says," Which side do you want?"

"I usually sleep on the right side, but I can sleep on the left if you want the right side."

"Nawh, you can have it. I like to sleep on the left side."

"Ok," I say and climb into bed, under the covers. I can hear Daryl sit his crossbow on the night stand then he gets into bed.

"Goodnight, Daryl"

"Goodnight, Beth"

I close my eyes and fall asleep to the sound of Daryl breathing.

**A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to say that writing this story is really fun and that I will try to update more often. I've been updating every other weekend and I will try to update once a week. I would love to hear your opinions on this story. You can leave me a review on here or you can message me on Tumblr. My url is skinnylove1324. I hope i hear from some bethyl buddies :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Daryl's POV

The first thing I notice when I wake up is that Beth is snuggled up against me. She must have moved in her sleep. My arms are around her. She is facing away from me and her ass in pressed against my crotch. Having morning wood is bad enough, but having Beth so close is making it worse. I need to move before she wakes up. She'll probably think I'm a pervert or something. The last thing I want is for her to be creeped out.

I start to unwrap my arms from her, trying not to wake her up. I get my arms free and roll over so I'm facing the opposite direction .My dick is starting to get soft. I breathe out a sigh of relief. I'm glad I woke up before she did. That would have been awkward.

"Finally awake, Daryl?" she asks, rolling over to face me. Damn it to hell.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask, rolling over to face her.

"Long enough."

Fuck. She was awake this whole time. Son of a bitch. Now she's going to think I'm a creeper.

"Listen it isn't, I didn't mean to-"

She cuts me off, "Don't worry about it. I understand. It happens. It's a natural response you can't control."

"Yeah, I was worried you would be freaked out or something."

"Why would I be freaked out?"

"I don't know. If I were you I wouldn't want some stupid redneck having his hard on pressed up against me."

"Daryl Dixon, don't talk about yourself that way. You aren't just some stupid redneck. You went looking for a missing girl. You almost died in the process. You protected everyone at the prison. You were constantly going on runs to get things we needed even though you knew that you were risking your life. Now you're with me, keeping me safe and trying to teach me how to fight and track. You're always risking your life for others. You're the most selfless person I've ever met. I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again, because you are a good man. You aren't some stupid redneck."

I can tell by the look in her eyes that she meant every word she just said. No one has ever told me anything like that before in my life, but I believe it. Other people may think I'm a stupid redneck, but she doesn't. Knowing that she sees me differently makes me happy. It also scares me, because now I'm falling for Beth Greene and there is no going back. I smile.

"Thanks," I say.

"You're welcome, and another thing Daryl, you don't know what I want. I could want your hard on pressed up against me. You don't know." She says and gets up and goes to the bathroom.

I'm speechless. Did she really just say that? If that was any other woman I would take that as a pass, but Beth is too good for me. She didn't mean it that way. I'm more confused than ever. Well she was right; I don't know what she wants.

I get out of bed and change into my other shirt. I put the shirt in my bag and grab my crossbow. I walk out of the bedroom and go to the kitchen. I look over the cans of fruit, trying to decide what I want. Fuck it, doesn't matter anyways. I grab a can of peaches and sit down at the table and start eating. I'm almost finished when Beth comes down stairs. She changed back into her day clothes and put her hair into a ponytail. She grabs a granola bar and sits down beside me.

I clear my throat, "So today I was thinking I could teach you some self-defense and then we could go for a walk."

"A walk? To where?" she asks.

"We could walk down the driveway then onto the road. We haven't seen much of the area around here. I want to know what's around."

"Yeah ok sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can find some supplies or some sign of the others," she says with a hopeful tone.

Typical Beth, always hopeful even when things look hopeless. She is definitely an optimist. That's a rare thing to find these days. I don't think we are going to see the rest of the group ever again. It has a very slim chance of happening, but I can't tell her that.

I nod," Yeah, maybe"

"Let's go train. I want to get it over with and go on that walk as soon as possible."

"Ok."

We walk outside to the backyard. I look around. No walkers.

"Ok so what do I do first?" Beth asks.

I hold out my hands, palms facing her. "Hit my hands as hard as you can."

She takes a step back. Her hands form into fists, with her thumbs tucked in. Her feet are close together. She brings her arm back and punches my hand. It barely hurt at all. It felt more like a high five than a punch. I fight off a smile. She has a lot to learn.

I put my hands down and say," That felt more like a high five than a punch. Don't tuck your thumb inside your fist." I make a fist to show her. "Like that, ok?"

She nods.

"And when you go into punch, keep your hands in a position where they can make a fist quickly, but don't form a fist till last second. Forming a fist then punching takes away force from your punch, and you need all the force you can get. No offense it's just you're small you don't have a lot of physical strength so you will have to use all your force or it won't hurt."

"Ok " she says.

"Are you right handed or left handed?" I ask.

"Right handed."

"Ok so you should put your left foot in front of your right. Keep your knees slightly bent. Push off with your back foot when you punch with your right hand. Keep your hands guarding your face when they aren't punching"

"Ok, got it."

I hold my hands back up, "Now try hitting my hands again."

She gets into stance and makes a loose fist. She pulls her arm back and pushes off with her back foot. She closes her fist right before it hits my hand. This punch hurt. It wouldn't knock someone out but it would probably do some damage. It would at least give them a bruise. She's a fast learner.

"That was good now do it again until I say stop," I say.

She smiles,"Ok."

I let her throw punches for a few minutes. "Okay, you can stop"

She stops. "Now what?" she asks.

"That's about it as far as punching goes. Remember when you're in a real fight to try to punch the fragile areas, like the nose, eyes, and throat. I'm going to show you a few other things you can do in a fight."

"Like what?"

"Like what to do when someone is trying to punch you."

"Ok, what do I do?"

"When someone tries to punch you dodge the punch then grab their fist. When their arm is outstretched kick them in the ribs."

"Sounds simple enough, I think I could do that."

"Good now let's try it. I'm going to throw a punch at you but it's going to be slow. I'm not really going to it you. Dodge the punch then grab my fist. Kick out towards my ribs, but don't actually kick me in the ribs."

"Ok. Let's do it."

I take a step back and punch towards her slowly. She moves out of the way, and then grabs my fist. She kicks towards my ribs but her foot stops before it gets to my ribs.

"That was really good now let's do it a few more times," I say.

We do it a few more times. I want to make sure she remembers so we did it a few more times after that.

"Now I'm going to show you what to do if someone is ever trying to hold a knife to your throat."

"Ok."

"Stand in front of me"

She does and I take my arm and hold it against her collar bone.

"Now if I had a knife in my hand I would be able to hold it against your throat. Take your hands and put them against my arm. You may not always be able to put your arms up if the grab you so do it before they get their arm across your collar bone."

She puts her hands against my arm.

"Now you would stomp their foot and elbow their groin. Don't really do it, just act like are."

She stomps the ground beside my toe and she elbows my ribs but not every hard.

"Ok good job. Now that should distract them so while they are in pain slip out of their grip. Then, take the hand the knife is in and bring it over their shoulder and kick them in the back of the knee and they should fall down. Do that now."

"Ok."

She slips out of my grip and takes my arm and brings it over my shoulder then gives me a swift kick to the back of my knee. I lose my balance and fall on the ground. I can hear her giggle.

"Are you ok?" she asks.

I get up. "Yeah I'm fine. Let's go through it a few more times."

We go through it a few more times, and then stop.

"Can we take a water break?" she asks. Her face is red and she's sweating. I probably look about the same. It's really fucking hot out here.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

We go inside and she grabs to bottles of water from the counter and hands one of them to me. We sit down at the table and enjoy the water.

"Is there anything else I need to know about self- defense?" she asks me.

"Your elbow is the strongest point on your body. Your knee is the second strongest. Use them. Elbow someone in the nose or throat. Knee someone in the crotch. Whatever you can do to get away do it."

"Where did you learn all this stuff?"

"Mostly bar fights that Merle got me into."

"Oh. Do you miss your brother? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I lost an older brother and I know what it's like."

I want to answer her, but I don't know how. I miss Merle, but at the same time I don't. He was always telling me I wasn't good enough, but he was my brother.

I sigh. "I miss him, but at the same time I don't. He wasn't good for me, but I loved him. He was my only family for a while. He was there sometimes then other times he wasn't. I wish he was still alive, but not near me."

Beth reaches out and touches my arm with her soft hands.

"Daryl, you have other family. You have me and the rest of the group. It's not blood that makes you family, its loyalty. We're a family."

"I know that. You guys were the best family I could ever hope for."

Beth smiles at me with those beautiful blue eyes and gets up from the table. She starts walking upstairs.

"Where ya going?" I ask.

"I'm getting my bag so we can go on that walk. I want to find the rest of my family."

"Me too," I say, but not loud enough for her to hear.

I hope we find them alive. I smile. I'm hoping for something. I haven't done that since shit hit the fan. Beth Greene has done what I thought was impossible. She gave me hope.

**A/N: Hey bethyl buddies! I just wanted to say thanks for reading this. I know this chapter was kinda slow but it needed to be wrote because there is a reason for it later. The next chapter will have more things going on. Please leave a review. Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it. You can also PM me or message me on tumblr. My url is skinnylove1324.I'll try to post an update next week. I hope you have a wonderful day/evening/night/ whenever you read this. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Beth's P.O.V.

I leave Daryl in the kitchen and rush up stairs. I go to the bedroom and grab my bag and my knife. We might find some supplies, so I grab Daryl's bag as well and go back down to the kitchen.

I see Daryl standing on the porch. He has on his signature angel wing vest. That vest is perfect for him. It represents his personality. He is always protecting. Just like an angel does. The vest also shows off those arms of his. His arms are going to be the death of me. I walk out on the porch and stand beside him.

"C'mon lets go I want to see if we see any signs of the others," I say walking off the porch.

"Yes ma'am, "he says and gives me a mock salute. I laugh.

"Here's your bag. I thought we might find some supplies." I say handing him his backpack.

"Good idea,"

We start walking down the dirt driveway, side by side. It's weird how Daryl makes me feel equal. Around everyone else I feel weak and inferior, but not with him. I guess it's because he is helping me. He is training me and teaching me, that's a lot more than anyone else has done for me in a while. I look over at Daryl. He is already looking at me with those piercing blue eyes. He looks away quickly; I can see a blush creeping onto his face. I smile. He is so cute and shy sometimes. He's a real sweetheart under his gruff exterior. He just doesn't want anyone to know it.

We keep walking until we reach the road.

"Which way should we go?" I ask.

Daryl shrugs," Doesn't really matter we can go one way today, then the other way tomorrow. Let's go left."

I agree and we start walking. I can see Daryl looking at the side of the road. Waiting for walkers or something else to come out of the woods. We walk about half a mile before we hear a groan. We freeze. The groans get closer. Then a walker stumbles out of the trees. It looks around and sees us. It gets starts stumbling towards us. I can hear Daryl start to load his crossbow.

"Don't. I got it," I say and take out my knife.

"Ok" he says.

I walk towards the walker. It was a man once. He has on a tattered suit. Maybe he was working at some fancy business before this. He growls and snaps his teeth. There is about twenty yards between me and him. I take a deep breathe. My heart is pounding. I grip my knife and start running towards the walker.

There are only a few feet between it and me. The next few moments happen in slow motion. All I can hear are its growls and my heart beating. It reaches towards me but I duck out of its reach. I jump and bring my knife down on its skull. Its black rotten blood sprays on my shirt. It goes motionless and falls to the ground.

I take my knife out of its brain and wipe it off on my jeans. I did it. I turn back to face Daryl. He has a look of approval on his features. I smile.

We keep walking for a little while longer in silence.

"Thanks." I say.

"For what?" he asks.

"I would be dead if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't know how to defend myself. Before the prison fell I had never killed a walker without a fence in between me and it. Now I can. It makes me feel like I'm useful."

"What are you talking about? You were useful at the prison. You were practically a mom for Lil Asskicker when Rick was grieving for Lori. Even after that you took care of her whenever he needed you to. You're the only person I know how could adjust to the responsibility of taking care of a child so quickly. That was useful. Other people would have had a mental breakdown,"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just I always wanted to be strong like Maggie and Sasha. I want to be able to go on runs and take care of the group without people constantly worrying about me. I want them to think I can hold my own. I don't want them to just see me as the babysitter. I mean I love taking care of Judy but I don't want that to be all I do."

"Beth when I look at you I don't see Judith's babysitter. I see Beth Greene, the girl who carries on with hope no matter what. It takes a lot of strength to do that. But if you really want to start going on runs and contributing to the group that way, then if we find-"

"Not if Daryl, when. We are going to find them."

"Fine. Then when we find them I will talk to Rick about letting you step up and do more things like that."

"Really? You really think they will let me start doing things like that?"

"Yeah. The group may take a little time, but that's only because they haven't seen you like this. You're different. You're learning how to fight now and you're getting stronger every day."

He's right. Since the prison fell I have been getting stronger. My arms and stomach are more toned. I have more stamina and endurance than I used to.

"That's because I have a good teacher," I say.

Daryl smirks and we continue walking in comfortable silence for a few more minutes.

"The trees are cleared up ahead. That means there some buildings" he says.

"Ok, so what are we aiming to get? Do we need anything?"

"We need bottled water and some more food. I would like to find a map so we can tell where we are."

I nod.

We stay on the road until we get to where the trees end. I look around. I see a few stores that are part of an outlet mall. I don't see any cars in the parking lots. There are only a few walkers wondering around.

"I don't think there any people around. I don't see a car anywhere or any dead walkers." I say.

"Let's take care of those walkers first. I only see about five. Then we can go check out the stores."

"Ok"

We walk toward the stores and the walkers quickly see us and start shuffling over. Daryl takes out one with his crossbow. One starts coming near me and I stab it in the eye with my knife. I run towards another one and stab its skull. Daryl shoots the other two quickly with his crossbow.

I look around the stores of the outlet mall. I see a Rue 21, Victoria Secret, Target, and a few restaurants.

"Where do you want to go first?" I ask.

"Let's go check out the Target. If it hasn't been looted all to hell we could find some food."

We walk over to the front of the store and Daryl knocks on the window. We wait for few minutes. He knocks harder. No walkers.

"The store must have been locked up before any walkers got in."

"That's good"

Daryl picks up a rock to break the glass door.

"Wait." I say.

"What?"

"Can I do it? I've always wanted to break a glass door."

Daryl chuckles, "You're something else, Greene" and hands me the rock.

The rock is pretty heavy. I take it and chunk it at the glass door with all my strength. The door shatters.

I smile. "That was kinda fun" I say.

I follow Daryl through the door. I start to look at the signs above the aisles.

"Canned food is on aisle four. Bottled water is on aisle seven," I say.

"Sounds like a good place to start."

We walk towards the canned food aisle. I grab some cans and put them in my backpack; Daryl does the same. We move from the canned food to where all the bottled beverages are. We grab a lot of bottled water and a few bottles of Gatorade.

"That covers the essentials, now we can get stuff we want but don't really need." Daryl says.

"Ok, I'll be right back"

I walk over to the aisle with all the tooth brushes and razors. I grab two tooth brushes, a green and a blue one, and some tooth paste. Then I grab a pink razor for me and a manly looking razor for Daryl. I take a can of shaving cream, too. I walk over to the hair stuff and get some more elastic hair ties. I also grab some deodorant. I put all the stuff in my bag and start looking for Daryl.

I walk past the book section, and then go back. It's not like I have a lot of free time to read, but it's nice to escape every now and again, especially in a world like this. I look over the books and pick out one: _The Perks of Being a Wallflower. _I had just started it when the outbreak hit and I never got a chance to finish it. I put it in my backpack and start looking around for Daryl. I see him behind the Customer Service desk. He's looking down at a piece of paper.

"Did you find something?" I ask.

"Yeah, I found a map."

I start to walk over to him, to look at the map when I trip. I stumble and twist my ankle then fall on the ground. Daryl is by my side in an instant.

"Beth! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just help me get up, please"

He helps me up. I have one of my arms around him. I feel fine, but as soon as I put some weight on my right ankle I wince. It really hurts.

"You're not fine. You can't even put any weight on that ankle. I'm going to pick you up. Hold onto my shoulders."

I do and he picks me up bridal style and sets me down on the counter of the Customer Service desk. He rolls my pants leg to get a better look at my ankle.

"Can you move your toes?"

"Yeah, but it hurts."

"I think you sprained it"

"Great" I say sarcastically.

"Stay right here. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I just have to go grab something. I'll be back in a second" he says and starts jogging off.

He comes back in a few minutes with a shopping cart.

"What's that for?" I say.

"It's your ride back to the farmhouse"

He picks me up again and sets me down in the shopping cart. It's kinda small but it beats trying to walk on my ankle.

Daryl puts his backpack in the cart with me and we go out of the store. We are almost out of the store when a sign catches my eye.

"Daryl, stop"

"What's wrong?"

"That sign over there. Look at it."

It's a sign with red writing. It had "Terminus: Sanctuary for all. Those who arrive survive" written on it.

"I've heard of that before. It was on the radio one day when we were on a run. We didn't get to hear the whole message because the radio was breaking up"

"We have to go. Right now. I bet that's where everyone else is."

"Beth we can't go right now. You're injured. Besides we don't know what that place is really like. It could be full of killers."

"That's why we need to go right now! They could be hurting our family"

"I know that. That's why we shouldn't go right now. Right now we are weak. We wouldn't be much help. Let's just wait till a little while longer. We at least need to wait until you're ankle heals, and there are some things I would like to get before we go."

"Like what?"

"A car and more weapons for starters."

I sigh, "You're right."

"It won't be that long. You're ankle will be fine in a few days. If we stay on this road and go past the farmhouse there is another outlet mall like this one. It has a Bass Pro Shop and a car dealership. We can find stuff we need there, and then we can go to Terminus"

"Ok"

"Now let's get back to the farmhouse."

We start going back on the road towards the farmhouse. We don't see any walkers on the way there. When we get to the driveway Daryl starts running, and then he hops up onto the metal bar above the wheels and rides like a little kid. We both start laughing. After we get to the farmhouse, Daryl carries me inside and sets me down at the kitchen table.

We eat a dinner of canned peaches then go upstairs. I have to change my clothes sitting down so Daryl waits outside while I change my clothes on the bed. He comes back in and we lay down in bed. It's still early and I'm not really all that tired.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you want to do before all this?"

"Honestly, not much of anything. I just followed Merle around. I never really had any goals or dreams or anything like that."

"Oh...Do you have any dreams or goals now?"

"I just want to survive and find the rest of the group. What about you? What did you want to do before the world went to shit?"

"I wanted to finish high school, then go to college and live in Atlanta. I would find a perfect guy and we would live in a small apartment, but we would still be happy because we had each other and that's all that mattered. I would teach Kindergarten. We would have a few kids later on and move out of the apartment into a bigger house in a small town. We would go to Church every Sunday. We would go to see my parents at least once a month. We would be happy."

"I wish the world was different so you could have all that"

"But it isn't. I'm never going to finish high school or go to college. Every boyfriend I get dies and both of my parents are dead."

"I'm sorry, Beth"

"Don't be. I've learned to live with it. I have a new dream now. I want to find our family and find a real safe place where we can build a community. There I will teach kids things they need to survive. Then we can wait till the walker all die out or they find a cure or whatever happens."

"So you gave up the dream of finding the perfect guy?"

"No. I think I already found him. He's tough and protecting. He is kind and loyal. He would do anything for the people he cares about and he carries a crossbow."

"Beth, you don't want me. I'm twice your age."

"I'm eighteen. I'm a legal adult. You're thirty-five. That's only seventeen years difference. Technically you aren't double my age. And I do want you Daryl. You don't have to say anything. You probably don't feel the same way about me. Just please don't keep me at arm's length thinking that's what's best for the both of us, because it's not. I know it's dangerous to care about someone these days, but I also know it gives you something to fight for. I know that each day could be our last, but I want to spend them living. I don't want to just survive. I want to live and survive"

Daryl doesn't say anything. I can't believe I just told him all of that. I knew he wouldn't feel the same way about me. I shouldn't have said any of that.

"Me, too, Beth" he says before he kisses me.

This kiss was totally different from the ones I had before. All I could focus on was Daryl's lips pressed against mine. At first he was tense and full of doubt, but then he relaxed. His lips were rough, but gentle at the same time. His scruffy beard was scratching my face but I didn't care. This was the most amazing kiss I had ever had. When we broke apart, I realized my heart was pounding in my chest.

"We shouldn't-"

"Daryl, save it for tomorrow, ok? I felt something there and I know you did too so let's just let this be a happy moment. We don't get a lot of them now days."

"Ok"

"Goodnight, Daryl."

"Goodnight, Beth"

**A/N: Hey guys I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I've been trying to post more updates lately. Reviews are always appreciated. You can tell me on her or on tumblr. My url is skinnylove1324. Thanks for reading this story it means alot to me.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Daryl's P.O.V.

I woke up with Beth in my arms. I still can't believe we kissed last night. Damn I don't know what I'm going to do. That kiss felt perfect. She was perfect. That's the problem. She's too good for me and always will be. Hershel Greene would roll over in his grave if he knew I was with Beth like that. All of this is way too confusing and complicated for me right now. I need to clear my mind. I need to hunt.

I look around the room. Sunlight is barely filtering through the windows. The sun didn't come up too long ago. It's still really early. I could try to go back to sleep, but I don't feel like sleeping. I'm too restless for sleep.

I gently roll Beth out of my arms and get out of the bed. I quietly put on my shoes, careful not to wake her up. I grab my crossbow and go to the kitchen I grab a granola bar and start eating. I'm about to walk out the door when I stop. What the fuck am I doing? I can't just leave without telling her. If she wakes up and I'm not here she'll get upset. I have to at least leave her a note or something.

I look around the kitchen trying to find some paper or a pen. I find a marker but no paper. I go into the living room and try to find something to write on. I found a dusty book and tore out the blank page in the front of it and start to write Beth a note.

_I went hunting. I'll be back before dark. Take it easy today and give your ankle some rest. Don't be up on it unless you don't have a choice._

_ -Daryl _

I grab a few granola bars and a bottle of water and go back upstairs. I quietly walk into the bedroom and leave the note on the nightstand. I also set the granola bars and bottle of water on the nightstand too. I don't want her to have to get up on her ankle if she gets hungry.

She looks like an angel in her sleep. She's so beautiful. I brush the hair out of her face and gently kiss her forehead. Damn this girl is getting to me. I need to get out of this house and into the woods now. I go downstairs and walk out the door.

I go through the backyard and into the woods. The only sounds are the birds singing and the squirrels running through the trees. It smells clean and earthy. The sun is filtering through the canopy of the trees, creating spots of sunlight on the ground. It reminds me of how things were before all this. I miss the freedom of being able to go anywhere I wanted and not have to worry about getting killed. I used to be able to just walk out into the woods and hunt without always looking over my shoulder for walkers.

I load my crossbow and aim for a squirrel sitting in a nearby tree. I pull the trigger and an instant later it falls out of the tree. I pick it off the ground and tie it around my belt. I need to get a few more squirrels. I want Beth to have enough. She needs to gain a little weight and with her sprained ankle she needs the extra nutrients.

I walk a little farther, killing a few walkers along the way. I find a small creek and sit down beside it. I drink some water from the creek and splash some on my face. I start chewing on my thumb. It's a habit I have when I'm thinking. I have so much to think about.

I miss the rest of the group. I want to see the others soon. I know I may never see them again but I try not to think about it. They could be somewhere safe. They could all be at Terminus.

Terminus. I don't know about that place. It seems a little off to me. They put signs up everywhere and make broadcasts on the radio that's a little strange. I understand they want to bring in survivors, but they are also putting themselves at risk by giving away their location like that. I don't get why they want to bring in survivors either. At the prison we brought in the people from Woodbury and a few strays, but we didn't want other people so bad that we would tell everyone to come find us. Lots of people mean more security but it also means more resources. I don't really like the idea of bringing Beth into a place full of strangers.

I don't know what I would do if something happened to Beth. I care about her. I want her to be safe. She knows me more than most people. She cares about me more than most people. She believes in me. She gives me hope. Last night, she said she wanted to be with me. Then I kissed her. I shouldn't have done that. If I hadn't of kissed her I wouldn't have known how amazing it felt. I would have been able to just reject her, push her away, or something. But now I don't think I can. I don't know what she wants with me. I know she wants a real relationship, but I have no experience with those. I've never had a real girlfriend. I usually just had drunken one night stands.

If Beth and I ever did have a relationship I would probably just fuck it up. I don't know how the group would respond to us either. Maggie probably wouldn't let me live to find out. Ugh, I have no fucking idea what I'm going to do.

I get up and start walking to try and find some more squirrels. I'm able to find three more. I kill them and tie them to my belt. I kill a few more walkers and start heading back to the house.

I get back to the house in the late afternoon. I take out my knife and start cleaning the squirrels. I take the leftover parts that can't be used and bury them. I don't want any walkers catching scent of the blood and coming here.

I dig a small hole in the ground for a fire. I get some sticks and put them in hole. I get on stick and set it on fire with my lighter. I drop the stick onto the rest of them and they catch fire. I cook the squirrels and put out the fire. I bring the cooked squirrel meat inside and set it on a plate I found in the cupboard.

I go upstairs to the bedroom and stop in the doorway. Beth is still in bed. Her knees are pulled against her chest and she's reading some kind of book. She seems really interested in it. I don't even think she knows I'm here. I knock on the open door. She jumps and looks at me.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to tell you that I got back ok and supper is ready." I say.

"Oh. It's fine. What are we having for supper?"

"Squirrel"

"Ok sounds good."

She sets her book down and starts to get out of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm going downstairs to eat supper. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You're not going to be walking anywhere on that ankle. It still needs to rest for a day or two."

"Then how am I going to get downstairs?"

I walk over to her and pick her up bridal style. She puts her arms around my neck. For a moment, our faces are so close together I can feel her breathe on my lips. I could lean in and kiss her so easily, but instead I pull away.

"Like this" I say and start carrying her towards the kitchen.

I carry her to the kitchen and set her down at the table. I get two bottles of water and hand one of them to her. Then I sit down and we start eating. We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"The squirrel tastes really good," Beth says.

"Yeah, it's better than usual"

"Maybe it's because we haven't had meat in a few days"

"Probably" I agree.

"I wonder how the others are eating. I hope they have enough food. "

"I'm sure they've found some food somewhere."

"Do you think they're at Terminus?"

"Probably. It seems like a good place to meet up. The others probably had the same idea and are there or on their way."

We sit in silence for a few minutes after that. Beth stops eating and just stares at her food. She looks at me.

"Daryl, can I ask a question?"

"You just did."

She looks back down at her food with a sad look on her face.

"Hey, I didn't mean to sound like a jackass. Of course you can ask me a question. You can always ask me about anything."

I really meant that. Usually I hate being asked things. The more questions a person asks the more they know about you. I never had wanted someone to know me. But I want Beth to know me. I know she won't judge me like other people would. I want Beth to know me and I want to know Beth.

"Do you think we will ever find them?" she asks with a sad look on her face.

Her eyes are tearing up. The tears seem to dark her usually bright eyes. I hate seeing her like this.

"Beth, that's a question I don't know the answer to. There are a lot of things that could go wrong. Some people could decide to go to different places. Some people could have never made it out of the prison…..But if there is one thing I do know it's that our group is full of strong, stubborn people who always beat the odds."

"Do you really believe that?" she asks, the tears in her eyes starting to dry.

"Yeah I do. I've seen it happen before."

"When?"

"When I first met Rick. He had woken up from a coma after the outbreak but he still managed to find Carl and Lori."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"Yeah if he can find his family we can find ours."

Beth smiles and my heart skips a beat. Her eyes light up and it makes me want to smile too.

We finish the rest of dinner and we go upstairs. Beth goes into the bathroom to change her clothes. While she's in the bathroom I change my shirt. I do it quickly. I don't want her to see my back. She comes out of the bathroom and we get into bed.

I'm about to fall asleep when Beth says something.

"Daryl, we haven't talked about last night, about the kiss."

I sigh. "I know Beth, but I still don't know what to do. All of this confuses the hell out of me."

"Well when you decide what you want to do, I'll be here to listen"

"Ok"

"Goodnight, Daryl Dixon"

"Goodnight, Beth Greene"

I close my eyes and fall asleep to the sound of Beth's restful breathing.

* * *

I'm standing in a sunny meadow full of wildflowers. In the middle of the meadow is a small table with two chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs is Hershel Greene himself. He looks healthy. He has both his legs and his head is still attached to his neck. He's wearing a white suit.

"Come take a seat Mr. Dixon we have a lot to talk about." He says with a smile and gestures to the other chair.

I walk over to the table and sit down in the empty chair.

"Hershel, am I dead? Did I die in my sleep? Is this Heaven or is it just a pit stop on the way to Hell?" I ask very confused.

Hershel laughs, "No you're still alive and this isn't Heaven, Heaven is a lot nicer than this actually."

"Oh" I say.

"I came to visit you in your dream because I need to talk to you about some things"

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like your relationship with Beth."

My eyes widen and my pace starts to get faster. I can feel my palms start to sweat. I don't want him to think I'm taking advantage of Beth.

"No, we aren't like that. We aren't doing anything I swear. I'm not taking advantage of her or anything like that" I say.

"I know that Daryl. You're a good man, that's what I'm here to tell you. If you and Beth want to pursue a relationship I give you my blessing."

My thoughts are spiraling. Did he just say what I think he just said? I must have misheard him.

"You can't mean that. I'm twice her age. I smoke cigarettes. I drive a motorcycle. I don't know shit about relationships."

"Well, I'll admit you're not what I had in mind for Beth, but you are good man. You respect Beth and you want what's best for her. You make her happy."

"She makes me happy, too" I say.

"I know. If two people make each other happy that's what really matters."

"So you really don't mind that I'm a lot older than her or that I have a complicated past and a lot of issues?"

"You remind me of myself Daryl. My father was abusive, like yours. Something like that never leaves a person, but that's not always a bad thing. It motivated me to be a good father. Those who remember the past don't repeat it, which is a good thing. As far as the age gap goes, Beth is old enough to make her own decisions and I was a older than both my wives so I can't really disapprove."

"Thanks"

Hershel stands up and I do the same. We shake hands.

"It's time for me to go. We'll see each other again one day."

"Not anytime soon I hope" I say with a smile.

Hershel laughs. "Take care of my little girl, Daryl"

"I'll do whatever I can to make sure she is safe and happy" I say.

"I know. That's why I'm not worried about her."

Hershel waves goodbye and starts walking away. The scene is starting to disappear. I'm waking up.

* * *

I open my eyes. The room is filled with the pale purple color of early dawn. The sun isn't even up yet, but I need to wake Beth up. I have to tell her. I need to talk to her.

I gently shake her. "Beth, Beth wake up" I say in a calm tone. I don't want her to think we are in danger.

Beth opens her eyes confused. "What is it, Daryl?" she asks her voice groggy with sleep.

"We need to talk about us"

Beth sits up and looks at me.

"Ok. Say what you need to say. You know how I feel I want to be with you." She says.

"I want to be with you too. I don't know a lot about serious relationships, but I want to try. I'm going to try not to fuck it up. I won't keep you at arm's length. I will give this everything I have, because I want to be with you. I want to make you happy, and you make me happy."

I breathe out a sigh of relief. There I finally said it. She doesn't say anything for the next few moments. It makes me anxious. Maybe I said something wrong. Damn I'm already screwing shit up.

"Beth? Please say something. Anything at all. Just say something. Don't just not say anything."

"Daryl?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me"

I look her in the eyes then I glance at her lips. We move towards each other slowly. She closes her eyes and I do the same. Our lips meet. Her lips are soft as silk. She smells sweet and warm like flowers in the sunlight. Her hands are running through my hair. My hands are on her back. This kiss is different from our last one. This one isn't rough. It's gentle. We keep kissing for a few minutes then break apart.

We just sit looking into each other eyes for a few moments. Her eyes are beautiful. They are a lot of different shades of blue. The outer shades are darker, but around the iris the blue is in lighter shades. I've never seen the ocean before. People are always saying it's so blue and beautiful, but I don't think it could be more beautiful than Beth's eyes.

We lie back down and wrap my arms around Beth, enjoying the moment we just had. Then I hear the sounds of raindrops hitting the roof.

"It's raining" she says.

"Yeah, it will probably be raining all day,"

"That means we can be lazy today. We can sleep in late and just hang around in the house all day."

"Sounds great" I say.

Beth yawns," I think I'm going to go back to sleep,"

"Me, too" I say.

Instead of moving away Beth stays in my arms and rests her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her tighter and fall asleep with her in my arms.

**A/N: Hey guys! I hope you are liking the story so far. Please tell me what you think. You can tell me on here or on tumblr my url is skinnylove1324. Thanks for reading this story. Until next time, bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of its characters.**

Chapter 7

Beth's P.O.V.

I woke up with Daryl's strong arms around me. My head is resting on his chest. I feel safe. I'm able to put all my worries away for a few moments. This is how it should always be. I want to wake up every morning in Daryl's arms.

I look up at Daryl's face. He seems so much younger when he's sleeping. His features are relaxed. The usual tension is gone. He looks so peaceful.

"You finally awake, Greene?" he asks and opens his eyes.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask.

"About an hour"

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"No reason to. It's still raining. We aren't going to be able to get much done today, so I thought you should get some rest while can."

"I wish it wasn't raining. We should be out there getting things ready so we can go to Terminus"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never really liked just sitting in the house all day."

"Well maybe we can find something to do around here."

"Weren't you reading a book yesterday?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Then you have something to do. You can finish your book."

"But what about you? I don't want you to just sit around and have nothing to do."

"I'll find something to do."

"Ok…..I think I'm going to go get some breakfast." I say and start to get up.

"You're not supposed to be walking around yet."

"Daryl, my ankle is fine. It feels a lot better. See." I moved my foot so he could see that my ankle was fine. It feels a little stiff but it wasn't painful.

Daryl gets out of bed and walks over to where I'm sitting on the bed. I give him a confused look. What is he doing?

"Not taking any chances." He said and started to pick me up bridal style. I put my arms around his neck and he starts to carry me downstairs.

"You know, Daryl Dixon, if I didn't know any better I would think you just like to have me in your arms." I say in a playful tone.

Daryl smirks, "Maybe you're right."

Daryl carries me into the kitchen and sets me down in a chair at the kitchen table. I keep my arms around his neck after he sets me down. I bite my bottom lip and then close my eyes and press my lips to his. He kisses me back gently then pulls away.

Daryl clears his throat, "We should eat breakfast."

I agree and he hands me a can of peaches. We eat in comfortable silence.

"I think I'm going to sit in the parlor and read," I say.

"Ok. Do you want me to carry you to the couch?"

"No, but I think I left my book upstairs. Can you go get it for me, please?" I ask.

"Sure," he says and goes to get the book.

I get up from the kitchen table and go to the parlor. I haven't been in this room a lot. There is a small pink loveseat and two matching antique chairs. This room is really dusty and smells like stale perfume. There is a small table sitting between the chairs and there is a picture frame on it. The picture is of an elderly couple. I guess they were the people who used to live here. They both had white hair and a face full of wrinkles, but the smiles on their faces made them look bright and youthful. I can see picture them sitting in this parlor and talking about their children and grandchildren. I smile. They can't do that now, but I like to think they did all those things before they died.

I sit down and the loveseat and a few moments later Daryl comes down the stairs with book in his hand.

"Thanks." I say as he hands me the book.

He nods in response, then goes to sit down in one of the chairs.

"You can sit over here with me if you want. This loveseat is probably a lot more comfortable than that old chair." I say and scooting over to make room for him.

He sits down beside me. I bring my feet to my side and rest my head on Daryl's shoulder. After a few moments Daryl wraps his arm around me. I look up at him, wanting him to kiss me. He looks at me and the corner of his lips turn up in a smirk. We look at each other for a few seconds then he kisses me. The kiss only lasts a few seconds then he pulls away. I put my head back on his shoulder and he starts to play with my hair. I begin to relax listening to the rain and enjoying Daryl's touches. I pick up _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_ and start to drift off into a different world.

I only had about five chapters left in the book. I finish it quickly. I close the book and start to cry thinking about how it ended. Daryl notices me crying and his eyes quickly fill with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

I take a deep breathe "Nothing's wrong. This book just made me think about some stuff is all. I'm not sad."

"What kind of stuff did the book make you think about?"

"It makes me think about a few things. In the book the main character's friends move away for college but they come back. That makes me think about how we are going to find the others. It also makes me think about how bad things can happen to us, and we can have made past mistakes, but our real friends and family will still always be there." I say with a smile.

"That sounds like some book, Beth"

"Yeah it is." I say

We sit in silence for a few moments. I think about the others. I just want to find them already. I want to know that they are okay.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah?"

"It was about a hundred degrees outside yesterday, right?"

"It sure felt like it."

"So wouldn't the rain be warm? That means we wouldn't catch pneumonia from being outside in it. We can go look for the others and gather supplies in the rain."

"Ok. Why the hell not? We aren't getting anything done here. It's just drizzling anyways."

"Let's go get our stuff and go."

"Ok"

We rush upstairs and get our bags. I grab my knife from the nightstand and Daryl puts his angel wing vest on and swings his crossbow over his back.

"Maybe we should eat lunch before we go" I say.

"Yeah that's probably a good idea."

We go downstairs and sit down at the kitchen table. It's funny how the world is ending but we always eat together at a table.

We finish our meal quickly then walk outside. The air smells of fresh clean rain. Daryl walks off the porch and I follow. The rain hits my skin and I cringe. It's colder than I thought it was going to be. Oh well, I'm not going to let a little cold rain keep me from finding my family.

Daryl and I walk down the driveway and on to the road. I take my knife out of its sheath and hold it in my hand. I don't know why but helps me ignore the cool rain.

"So when are we supposed to reach the strip mall?"

"If we keep at this pace about half an hour"

"Ok, so what should be the main thing we are looking for?"

"The main thing is signs of the others, but as far as supplies go I want to get a car. The next thing is more weapons. I need more arrows and that little letter opener you call a knife could be replaced."

"Hey, don't make fun of my knife. I can kill walkers with it so it's not entirely useless."

"Yeah, you can kill walkers with it, but if you tried to stab a person with it all it would do is piss them off."

"I could stab them in the neck or face" I say.

"Yeah, but that would mean you would have to get really close to them to do that. If someone has given you a reason to try and stab them do you really want to be closer to them than you have to?"

I sigh, "No, I guess not."

After that we walk for a few more minutes in silence, we kill a few walkers along the way. The rain finally stops.

"We're about five minutes away. When we get there I want to go to the Bass Pro first. We should save the car dealership for last because a car will draw unwanted attention."

"Ok"

We walk until we spot the strip mall. I see about twenty walkers wandering around. We're outnumbered which isn't uncommon, but it's never good.

"We're outnumbered," I say and I grip my knife tighter.

"I know. I have a plan." He replies.

"What is it?"

"I have five arrows. I kill off five walkers with my bow then we take out the rest with our knives."

That's going to be leave fifteen walkers. That's a lot to take on with knifes, but its not like we have a better plan.

"Ok" I say.

"Beth, after I use my arrows there is still going to be a lot of walkers for just the two of us. It's going to be like a small herd. If you stay in one place they'll swarm you. Make sure to move around, don't stay in one spot. I don't want you getting hurt."

I smile at what he said last. Even though he didn't say "I love you" or anything like that, "I don't want you getting hurt" means he cares.

"I'll be careful," I say.

Daryl loads his crossbow and shoots a walker coming towards us. It drops to the ground. He loads the crossbow and shoots another walker. He does this until he runs out of arrows. The walkers he shot drew attention and all the walkers are coming towards us.

"Let's get this over with." Daryl says.

"Be careful" I say.

Daryl nods and starts going towards the walkers. I jog towards the herd. A few of them start staggering towards me. I can see their dead eyes and their snapping yellow teeth. All I hear are their growls and my heartbeat. I run towards on walker and stab it in the eye. It drops to the ground. I take my knife out of its skull and stab a walker who was almost on top of me. Another walker lunges for me, but I side step it at last second. The walker falls on the ground and I dig my knife into the back of its head. I run towards another walker. It's too large for me to jump up and stab so I run behind it and kick it in the back of the knee. It stumbles and falls to its knees. I bring my knife down on its skull and it becomes motionless. I see another walker coming towards me. I run to the side of it and stab it through its ear.

I look around for more walkers, but all I see is Daryl retrieving his arrows from the skulls of dead walkers. I breathe a sigh of relief. I don't want to have to kill anymore walkers. I start walking over to Daryl.

"Do you think we will find any weapons in Bass Pro?" I ask.

"Maybe, only one way to find out."

"Let's go" I say.

We walk on the sidewalk to the door of the Bass Pro Shoppe. Daryl knocks on the door and we wait. A walker claws at the glass door. We wait a little longer but no other walkers come. Daryl opens the door and the walker stumbles out. I take my knife and stab it through its skull.

Daryl holds the door open, "ladies first" he says in a playful tone.

I laugh, "Thanks"

I go inside and look around. I see some fishing poles, hunting gear, and some display cases. I walk over to one of the display cases and see it's full of knives. This is great. I can get a better knife now. I look at all the knives and see one that is about ten inches long and it has a blue handle. That one is perfect! I go behind the counter and open the case. I grab the knife and the sheath that was under it. I attach the sheath to my hip and put the knife inside. I also grab a pocket knife with a four inch blade and put it in the pocket of my jeans.

"What did you find?" Daryl asks, walking towards me.

"I found this knife" I say and take the machete out of its sheath.

"That was a good choice" he says.

"I also found this pocket knife," I say and show him the pocket knife.

"Yeah, this is a good knife, too"

"Did you find any arrows?" I ask.

"Yeah I got a few more now."

"That's good."

"Yeah it is. We should get going to the car dealership now. It's a few stores over."

"Ok"

We walk out of the Bass Pro and go over to the car dealership. I see rows of cars and a few motorcycles.

"Which one do you like?" Daryl asks me.

I look around some more. There are so many. I see a black SUV and it looks like it could hold a lot of stuff. That would be useful if we went on runs or if we had the rest of the group with us.

I point to the black SUV , "That one" I say.

Daryl walks over to the black SUV and looks at it.

"Yeah, I like it, too" he says.

"The keys are probably inside. We can break in and get them." I say.

"A few weeks with me and you're committing grand theft auto," he says with a smirk.

"You're a bad influence, but I like it."

Daryl laughs, "Let's go get those keys and get out of here."

We start walking over to the door. We pass a row of motorcycles and Daryl looks at them sadly. I forgot he had lost his motorcycle when the prison fell. He loved that bike. When the bike wasn't working well Daryl would look for parts to try to repair it instead of just leaving it like we did when our other vehicles wouldn't work.

"Daryl you should get one of these bikes," I say.

"I can't do that. It would be a waste of fuel."

"It wouldn't be a waste, and besides what if the SUV breaks down or something. We can always use another vehicle, and I can tell you miss your old bike."

"Yeah, I do miss it. There's nothing like riding on a motorcycle y'know,"

"I don't know. I've never been on one before."

"We'll have to change that. I'll take you for a ride one day."

"I'm going to hold you to that,"

"I know you will,"

"So which one are you going to get?"

Daryl looks at all the bikes careful. He walks over to one, and sits on it.

"I think I'm going to get this one"

It has black leather and the handlebars aren't way above the seat like his old one. He looks really sexy on that motorcycle.

"Ok. C'mon and let's go get the keys"

We walk up to the glass window and look in. I don't see any walkers inside. Daryl grabs a rock and throws it through the window, shattering the glass. He goes through the broken window and I follow behind him. He walks over to a wall full of keys and tosses a set to me.

"Those are for the SUV." He says.

He grabs another set for the motorcycle and we walk out.

"You can drive the SUV back to the farmhouse. I'll take the motorcycle." He says.

"Ok."

I walk over to the SUV and unlock the door and get inside. I put the key in the ignition and turn it on. It's been so long since I drove a car. I look at the fuel gage and it's on full. I'm thankful. I really don't feel like siphoning gas today. Daryl is waiting for me in the road. I drive the SUV to the road. Daryl takes off on the motorcycle and I follow behind him.

The first few minutes of the drive are uneventful. Then Daryl waves his hand and points to a store. He turns in the parking lot of the store. What is he doing? I follow him into the parking lot. He has gotten off the bike. I park the SUV and get out.

"What's going on? Why did we stop?" I ask.

Daryl points to the store. Then I see why he stopped; written in what looks like walker blood is a sign on the side of the front of the store.

"_GLENN GO TO TERMINUS –MAGGIE"_

This is great. It means Maggie was here and that she is going to Terminus. She's alive and looking for Glenn. My heart aches. She's looking for Glenn. She isn't looking for me.

I force myself not to cry. I'm not going to cry now. I blink back tears and try to put a smile on my face.

"This is great. We know she's going to Terminus now. We better get back to the house before dark," I say and get back into the SUV.

Daryl gives me a look and I know he didn't buy my act for a second. He gets back on the bike and we start going back to the house.

How could she not be looking for me? I'm her sister. Why didn't she put my name on a sign? Does she care about me at all? All these thoughts replay over and over in my head until we reach the house.

I run out of the SUV and into the house. I got to the kitchen and start looking in the cupboards. I remember seeing it here somewhere. I just need to find it again.

"Beth, what are you doing?"

"Looking for something,"

"What are you looking for?"

I reach for the glass jar in the cupboard and hold it up for him to see.

"Beth, put the moonshine down."

I ignore him and read the label. Caramel flavored moonshine sounds good enough to me.

"It's caramel flavored. I wonder if it tastes anything like caramel." I say.

"Beth,"

"I guess I'm about to find out." I say and start to take the top off the jar.

"Beth Greene, I'm not going to let you get drunk."

"Why not, Daryl?" I ask. I'm starting to get angry. I'm a grown woman I can get drunk if I want to.

"I'm not going to let you get drunk right now. You're just looking for a way to numb the pain. You're upset about the sign your sister left. I understand, but numbing the pain with alcohol isn't going to help. Believe me, I've tried."

"How could she do that?" I ask.

"I don't know,"

"Does she care about me at all? Why didn't she put my name on the sign?"

"I'm sure she cares about you, Beth. It's just that she can't live without Glenn. She probably thought you didn't make it out of the prison,"

"She didn't know that for sure though. Just like I didn't know if she made it out either, but I'm looking for her. Hell, I even went out in the rain to look for her today" I say and tears start to pour down my face.

Daryl doesn't say anything. He just looks at me with a sad expression.

"It's funny because right now I'm upset and angry at her, but I know as soon as I see her again I'll forgive her instantly and forget all about this." I say and wipe the tears from my eyes.

"You're a good sister to Maggie, Beth" Daryl says.

"I try"

We stand beside each other for a few minutes in silence. I feel my anger slipping away and the tears in my eyes have dried.

"Do you feel better now that all of that is out of your system?" Daryl asks.

"Yeah, I do actually."

"Then you can drink that moonshine if you want to. I just didn't want you drinking it because you were angry."

"Do you want some?" I ask.

"No thanks"

I take the top off the jar and sniff. It smells sweet but awful at the same time. I put the jar to my lips and take a drink. It tastes disgusting at first, but the after taste is sweet. I can feel it burn all the way down to my stomach. It's not the worst feeling in the world. I've never gotten drunk before, but I don't know how many more chances I'm going to have so I take another drink. And another after that. And one after that. I keep drinking till it's all gone.

I sit the jar down on the table. I look at my hand. Fingers are so weird. It's like little arms branched off of your arm. I giggle. Giggling is fun so I do it some more.

"You're wasted now, aren't you?" Daryl asks.

I look at him. He's so damn sexy. Every part of him is sexy. His hair is sexy. His eyes are sexy. His mouth is sexy. His arms are sexy.

I walk over to him and put my arms around his neck. I stand on my tip toes and I kiss him. He starts to kiss me back, but he's hesitant. I keep kissing him. This is ok for a while, but I want more. I run my tongue over his bottom lip. He opens his mouth a little and soon our tongues are exploring each other's mouths. I can feel the heat between my legs. I want him. I run my hand under his shirt over his toned stomach. I start to unbutton my shirt. Daryl freezes.

"Beth, we got to stop. You're drunk. You don't know what you really want right now."

I smile at him," I know what I want. I'm a virgin I want you to change that,"

Daryl shakes his head, "No. Not now."

"Daryl, please"

"I said no. Now you're going to go upstairs, and change your clothes then you're going to sleep."

"Fine"

I start to go up the stairs, but my foot misses the step and I fall. I laugh. Daryl helps me up then he helps me up the stairs and into the bedroom. I get my other set of clothes and start to change. Daryl's eyes are wide and his face is red before he turns around. Oops I forgot he was in here. I put my other clothes on. The room is starting to spin.

"You can turn around now," I say with a giggle.

The room just keeps spinning faster and faster. I laugh.

"Beth, you need to lie down before you pass out."

"Ok," I try to walk over to the bed, but my feet didn't seem to get the message. I fall and I laugh. Daryl picks me up and sets me down on the bed. Then he pulls the blanket over me. I lay my head down on the pillow and soon I'm falling asleep.

**A/N; Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. Tell me what you think. All reviews are appreciated. You can tell me on here or on tumblr my url is skinnylove1324. Thanks so much for reading this story. I hope you have a wonderful day full of smiles.**


End file.
